Statue of a Muse

A young woman wearing a long robe and wrapped in a mantle leans forward, resting her elbow on a tall rocky support. She represents a Muse, one of the goddesses of the arts and learning. Scholars identify this leaning figure as Polyhymnia, the Muse of the art of mime. The statue was part of a group of Muses and other deities that probably decorated a building devoted to the worship of a Roman emperor. Traces of paint on the woman's eyes, hair, and her rocky support show that the statue was originally enlivened with color. The form of the statue's base allows scholars to reconstruct how it was displayed: its flattened back indicates that the statuette was probably placed in a niche.